


Demanding Sacrifice

by Kkaebsong_Yeollie



Series: Tales of Ooo [2]
Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Angst, F/F, Feels, Ice King's Fan fiction, M/M, Parting Ways, Super-Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 10:19:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7797988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kkaebsong_Yeollie/pseuds/Kkaebsong_Yeollie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life imitates art, and the people of Ooo are no exception. </p><p>(A.k.a. everything is pain and no one is happy. The end.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Demanding Sacrifice

_ Gumball gazed down at the phone he was clutching.  _

You have to call. You owe him that much,  _ Gumball thought. He sighed as he began to dial. The phone rang a few times before it exploded with sound. Loud, mindless music was blaring and Gumball could vaguely hear shouts and screams in the background. Then a familiar, laughing voice filtered through the phone.  _

_ Speak,” the voice hissed.  _

_ Marshall, it's me,” Gumball said.  _

_ Hello, Beau,” Marshall snickered. “To what do I owe-” _

_ Marshall, I need to speak to you in person. I know you’re in the Underworld right now-” _

_ Dude, this place is sick. Dead peeps know how to party. Did you know Butterscotch Butler is down here? Man, she is killing it on the mic! I mean that in the literal sense too,” Marshall ranted. _

_ "Listen to me, Marshall! I need to speak with you. Please, come quickly,” Gumball urged.  _

_ "Alright, don't flip a table, Gum-Brain. I'll be there in a second,” Marshall teased. Gumball heard the receiver click and set down the royal phone, running his fingers through his hair before retreating to his bedroom. The room was impeccably neat, a grand place to slumber, but it looked empty in the darkness. He trudged to his bed and collapsed, staring at the ceiling, trying to plan out what he was going to say to Marshall. Gumball’s mind was a typhoon of words and thoughts; the sentences sloppy and destructive but the message was always the same. There wasn't enough sugar in all of the Candy Kingdom that could coat the grenade he was going to hand Marshall.        _

_ Gumball rubbed his eyes and turned his head towards the balcony as a figure in the distance floated swiftly towards him. He sat up abruptly and rushed to the edge of his balcony. There, draped in soft moonlight, was Marshall Lee.  _

_ He drifted closer to Gumball. “Alright, I'm here. You have my full and undivided attention, Beau,”  Marshall said, floating upside down and grinning.  _

_ “Come inside, Marshall,” Gumball said softly, taking the Vampire King’s hand in his. Marshall’s eyebrows rose but he let the other boy gently pull him inside. They sat down on Gumball’s bed. All while he spoke, Marshall never interrupted. He listened to Gumball's short attempt at small talk, to all his kind words, and finally, when Gumball could no longer beat around the bush, he listened carefully to him.  _

_ "It has been decided that I am going to become the King of Ooo,” Gumball whispered. Silence filled the space between them, neither able to look the other in the eyes, both at a loss for words. Finally, Marshall took Gumball's hand in his. _

_ "That's…well that's rad, man. I mean, this is what you wanted. All of Ooo finally unified,” Marshall exhaled. “You are the most qualified for this position and you’ll be great as King.” _

_ Gumball looked up at him, smiling. “We’ll both be Kings,” he offered. Marshall chuckled weakly, nodding. Gumball looked down and decided he had to say it. “Marshall-” _

_ "I know why you called me, Beau,” Marshall laughed mirthlessly. “You don't have to tell me ‘responsibility demands sacrifice’.” Gumball's eyes widened as he opened his mouth to say something, but then he stopped himself.  _

_ "I wish it wasn't like this.” _

_ "Yeah, well. I guess wishing only gets us so far,” Marshall murmured. Suddenly, he leaned in and kissed Gumball gently on the cheek. Gumball tensed up and then finally allowed himself to cry as he watched his best friend pull away and fly off the balcony. Marshall drowned himself in the moonlight, and Gumball faded away into the darkness.  _

 

  ***

“So Marceline, how are you liking my fan fiction?” Simon asked excitedly. Marceline’s eyes were trained on the slightly crumpled pages that were clutched in her hands. The two of them were sitting in the Ice Palace, half-buried in all of Simon’s works. 

“It's really good. Did Marshall Lee and Prince Gumball love each other?” Marceline inquired, her eyes glazed over with sadness. 

“What? What are you reading?” Simon waded through the papers to peer over her shoulder. “That old draft? I thought I threw that out ages ago.” He cringed at the sight of his old work. 

Marceline tore her eyes away from the papers to look at her old friend. “No, no I really like this! I mean, it didn't even seem like a first draft. I think you could really develop their storyline.” Upon hearing this, Simon’s eyes widened. 

“You really think so? Wow, that's wonderful!” Simon chirped. His smile vanished and he looked at her seriously. “I can definitely explore their stories more, Marceline. But their relationship… is a freight train. They think they can control it, but Gumball and Marshall won't be able to. They’re headed straight for a cliff.” Marceline’s heart dropped.

“Come on, Simon. I doesn't have to be like that. You’re the author, you can save them.” Her voice shook.

“They write the story. I simply copy it down,” Simon preached. He blinked suddenly and focused back on Marceline. “Plus, ‘Gumlee’ is completely unrealistic. I don't know what I was thinking. They have zero chemistry and keep hurting each other as themselves.” Marceline looked back at the crushed pages in her hands. Memories upon memories flooded her mind; her favorite ones and the ones she chose to push away. The one common theme was Bonnibel. Tears welled up in her eyes. 

“Anyways, I was thinking- what?” Simon stopped suddenly, seeing Marceline crying. “Oh no, was the fiction that bad? Globbit, I keep making women cry!” he exclaimed, clearly in distress. He began frantically sifting through papers until he found one he liked, “Here, read this. It's not half bad, I think. Please don't be upset,” Simon begged. Marceline chuckled weakly, swiftly brushing away her tears. 

“I'm not crying because of you. I chose to come here, man. I was just… inspired by your work,” she said, trying to reassure her friend. “Can I keep this?” she held up the pages. Simon’s worry faded away, replaced by a bashful smile. 

“Of course! I’ll just write some more,” he said giddily. Marceline sighed, easing up a bit. She stood slowly and floated over towards the entrance.

“I'm going to go back to my place and drop this off. I'll be back,” Marceline said, smiling. Simon looked disappointed but gave her a thumbs up, and she stumbled out of the entrance, musing bitterly on how easy it had become to lie.

_ Lies are easier to tell and hear. You do them a favor every time.  _

She flew as fast as she could away from there, only hesitating for a moment in front of the Candy Kingdom before bursting into tears at the foot of her cave. The moonlight didn't hurt like the sun did, but it stung. It was the same as being with Bonnie. Being alone would kill her, and the pain with Bonnibel reminded her that she was alive. With Bonnie, Marceline felt sane. 

She dragged herself into her house and decided that she was going to stay on that freight train. There was nowhere else to go except off that cliff. 

 


End file.
